The Greatest Gift: Hope
by CallMeBlind
Summary: Kain was purified by Raziel’s sacrifice and it put an end to the Elder God for good. But after Raziel gave up all he had, Kain still had the weight of restoring Nosgoth weighing down on his shoulders. The only solution known was to restore the Pillars.
1. Chapter 1: The New Circle

A/N: Alright

A/N: Alright! First full-length fiction! Anyways, this one was written with the fantastic help of Fieothan! Fieo gave me all sorts of help. Editing, Making sure I stayed in character, keeping the plot straight… You rock Fieo! Thanks!

This takes place in the years after Defiance. Contains SPOILERS for the game, just a warning.

Disclaimer: Amy Henning, you are god. I own not what you do! –Bows-

On with the fiction!

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The dirt path ahead of him was bathed in moonlight as it wound into a sharp corner. Already he could hear the calls and mock war cries of the young ones that awaited his arrival. The trip had been a short one, but it had not been without its perils. The humans had not taken the rise of the new pillars as well as he had hoped. Some groups of fanatics looked as though they were on the brink of erupting.

Kain rounded the corner into the clearing that held the Pillars of Nosgoth, which were again white and holy, as they had been intended. He could see the little moving shadows, each somewhere close to the pillars that had chosen them at birth. He moved his yellow eyes over each of the new guardians, finding only one to be missing.

"Kain!" A voice from above him rang out loudly.

Kain looked up just in time to step out of the way of a young boy whom had been waiting for him in the last tree on the path. The boy landed and stood up, looking rather small compared to Kain. The boy looked only around the age of fifteen, and bore the symbol of the Time Pillar on the sash he wore on his belt. His skin was pale, as though he never spent any time in the sun.

"Must you, Pelin?" Kain crossed his arms.

"Sorry... It's hard not to when I know your coming..." The boy admitted.

Kain stared at the black-haired boy for a moment before he answered.

"Just because you know when I will be here dose not mean 'wait in a tree and try to scare me' "

Pelin looked at the ground for a moment, then looked back and flashed a toothy grin at Kain. His fangs had gotten much longer in the last few weeks. It had only been a month since he was turned, but his fangs seemed to suggest that it had been much longer.

Kain rolled his eyes at the boy and carried on toward the circle of Pillars, followed closely by Pelin. As they neared the rest of the young ones, a few of them looked up. A young girl, dressed in black and red and leaning on the Pillar of Death watched Kain's every movement, paying little mind to the shadow he seemed to have acquired.

Kain seemed to notice the redhead quickly and called the young girl on it.

"Something you wish to say, Sly?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Ohh, nothing..." She said as she looked away "Only wondering about food."

She only seemed at be around fourteen, but her face said that she was wise beyond her years.

"I have brought some with me, though not all I would have liked. Enough to keep you until Vorador arrives." Kain pulled some oddly coloured vials from the pouch he had been carrying on his belt and gave one to each of the young guardian's who had been turned.

"How are the food stocks, Keena?" He turned to face another girl, standing in the center of the stage that the Pillars appeared to rest on with a brown haired boy.

She looked up at him, brushing a piece of dirt from the green sash, baring the Nature symbol she wore on her right shoulder onto the boy.

"Fine really... We have enough to last us another week or two." She informed Kain well the boy next to her glared. He bore the symbol of Dimension on his shirt.

"Sorry Renik." Keena giggled before turning back to Kain.

"Good then." Kain made his way toward the Balance Pillar in the center of the row. The thrown he had built in it still remained, but on a lesser level. He pulled the Soul Reaver from his back and settled into the large chair, leaning the sword as he always did.

The young ones where soon back to what they had been doing before Kain arrived. He watched them play, run, and shout. They were as they were intended to be, young and pure. He hoped to maintain the pure statues, and thus keep the Pillars from being damned.

He looked around one more time, ensuring that everyone was in his or her place. When he found that all were in said place, he nodded to himself and relaxed. The trip had been a success and all was well. Now if only he knew what was keeping Vorador.

"_Don't bother worrying over him,_" a voice rose from the sword, as its blue glow grew slightly more intense, "_I would feel more sorry for who or what ever is holding him up at the moment, assuming anything is at all._"

Kain glanced at the sword. "Yes, I'm guessing you'd be right Raziel. He is rather relentless in his attacks, providing he isn't just taking his time." Kain took a moment to think back on the trip that had just been taken.

"The Humans seem to be more and more frustrated since we've made our comeback." He said while seeming unnerved, " I wonder what they plan to do."

"_I really can't tell you much. It's hard to observe anything when you are trapped inside a sword._" Raziel's voice was starting to fade out as it normally did when he grew bored with conversation, "_ Self-suicide, to damn ones self in to this tiny prison. I've grown quite fond of it though._" The swords glow faded out a bit and Raziel's voice vanished. He never did seem to like chatting for a long period of time, but he popped back in randomly at his own pace, which was often enough.

Kain remembered clearly what had happened when Raziel has sacrificed himself for the good of Nosgoth. He had been imprisoned in the sword, but granted Kain the sight required to destroy the Elder God. He watched the glow of the sword fade slightly, still thinking on the subject when a small voice shook him from his memories.  
"Scion?"  
Kain had been so preoccupied with talking to Raziel that he had become oblivious enough about his own surroundings for one of the young boys to sneak his way up to the arm of his chair. The boy was the youngest out of all of the children, he was eleven and still human. He was too young to understand what was really happening, and so he could not choose for himself weather or not he was ready for a huge change in himself yet, the vampire transformation.  
The young boy just stared up at Kain from the arm of the chair with his emerald green eyes beaming, waiting for a response. As soon as Kain's mind registered what had been said to him, he gave a simple reply.

"Yes, what is it Teek?"

"I was just wondering if everything was alright," Teek said timidly, "You look like you're upset..."  
The little boy was chosen by the States Pillar as its Guardian. He was always timid and rarely ever spoke loud enough to be heard. He was always watching though, and he noticed immediately when someone was not their normal self.

A slightly irritated sigh left Kain's lips, though it was not directed at Teek. He nodded at the boy.  
"Yes Teek, I am fine. I was revisiting a memory." He looked skyward for a moment, reflecting again, but quickly stopped and looked back to the boy. He decided that distracting himself would be the best thing at the moment.

"And you? How are you feeling?" Once in a wile He felt the need to strike up a conversation.

"I'm fine, Sir." Teek answered with his hands held behind his back. "Things seem to be normal around here, but I guess you saw that already, knowing Pelin."  
Teek glanced over to see what Pelin was up to. The other boy seemed to be trying to play leapfrog with a bug of some kind. Teek just giggled at him and the smile that was normally on the boys face returned.

Kain nodded slightly. He looked up to see Pelin as well, who quickly stopped playing with the bug and grinned, sliding back toward his pillar. Kain tried not to grin, but let it slid for the time being. These children were often just too funny.

Sly had moved away from her pillar and was speaking with Keena about something. The Nature Guardian seemed to be doing a lot of agreeing with the Death Guardian. Kain wondered what they could be talking about, but shrugged it off.

He glanced at the forest, then back around the circle. The issue involving the human's reactions to the new Pillars was still in the center of his mind. He worried silently that a new section of Seraphim could be started. If the humans wanted them gone to badly, it could be his old history all over again. He and Vorador had to make sure that did not happen.

A yell shook him from his thoughts.

"Pelin! Get off me!" Renik's voice could be heard from under Pelin, who had fallen off the Time Pillar and onto Renik.

Kain shook his head. 'That one always gets the bad end of things...'

"He should be glad it was not Zack!" the brown haired boy beside his chair grinned, "Zack is heavy!"  
"Zack is what now?"  
Hearing his name had summoned the Mind Guardian. He was transformed when he turned fifteen and so his appearance had not changed much since then. His jet-black hair, yellow cat like eyes, and fangs gave away the fact that he was a vampire. He looked heavily built for a fifteen year old, and he housed a lot of power but Zack had always been good for an intelligent conversation and not a fight.  
"Should not talk about people behind their backs, Teek." Zack said with a smirk  
"I wasn't!" Teek's arms were waving wildly, "Or I didn't meant to, or, I'm sorry!"  
"It's fine Teek," Zack patted the boy on the head, "I was only joking."

Kain looked over at the young Mind Guardian and nodded slightly, as if to greet him. By now, Pelin and Renik were too busy play-fighting to even bother thinking about the rest of the world. Kain watched them from the corner of his eye, making sure Pelin didn't go over board. This was easy to do as Renik was still human, and Pelin was not. A quick glance at the sky reminded Kain of something.

"It's two hours until day break..." He turned his attention back to Zack. "You know what that means."

"Yeah," Zack responded, " I do."  
The boy looked up at the sky and glared at the direction that the sun would be rising from soon. He sighed while trying to not look too disappointed and turned to the rest of the Guardians.  
"Would you like me to get them together then?" Zack asked while placing a hand on Teek's shoulder.  
Teek looked up at the sky quickly and then back at Kain, and then to Zack. Sunrise meant that the other four who were vampires would have to go and hide again. Most times that meant the humans had to go to sleep. Bed Time, how Teek hated that word.  
"Do we have to?" the smaller boy whined, "I don't feel tired."

Kain sighed slightly.

"Yes Teek, you have too, and that would be a wise choice, Zack." He said as he yawned slightly, " It will start to get light out very soon."  
Fledgling vampires could not stand in the sun for long, and thus the small ones needed to be shielded from the light. Kain had them sleep during the day, and stay awake during the night. Kain himself did not keep a specific schedule. He needed much less sleep then the children did. The children would likely be disappointed that it was time for bed, but it would pass come nightfall tomorrow.

"Alright then," Zack said almost sounding disappointed himself, "I'll go start the others."  
The boy jogged off leaving Teek behind with his pouting face, a face that looked more unimpressed then it looked like a pout.  
Zack ran to two of the girls who had been talking quietly back and forward and got their attention. Leena and Ariea were the Energy and Conflict Guardians. Leena had hazel brown hair but was transformed. Ariea was not, but her hair was jet black. Ariea's eyes were still a human colour though, a hazel brown, matching Leena's hair. The two were often chatting with one another and were always seen around each other. If you saw one, the other was often not very far behind.  
Zack seemed to get his point across as Ariea and Leena both looked to Kain and nodded to Zack. The boy ran off to Pelin while Ariea and Leena walked their way over to Kain. The rest of the small Guardians soon followed with Zack bringing up the rear.

"Good," Kain said, "Now that you're all here. It's time for bed. The sun will be up soon." He glanced at the small fortress to there left that slightly resembled a windowless mausoleum. He looked back to the children, most of which were still staring at him. "Well? Go on. Get to bed." An unimpressed look crossed his face.  
Pelin moved toward the stone home, followed closely by Renik, Keena, and Sly looked to one another before shrugging and heading in. Kain started to walk himself. He figured he would get his own day's sleep, to keep him going later on.

Zack started to heard Teek towards the building, but Teek did not want to go and was making it just a little hard for Zack. Leena and Ariea did not seem to have a problem with going to sleep though. The two just kept on chatting, smiling, and laughing. Those two were always happy as long as they could talk to someone, and it never specifically had to be each other either.  
"Heading off so soon?" A recognizable voice called to Kain from over his shoulder.

Kain turned around, knowing the voice instantly.

"The same time as every night," he crossed his arms, "Why, has something changed, Vorador?"

"That depends. Do you count a rally and a riot as a reason to keep you going?" His tone was as sarcastic as ever, "Or perhaps the few humans that I caught sneaking around this very place, and far to close to the tree line for Pelin's safety, to be a reason."  
He did not seem impressed, less so then he normally was in fact. When things like this happened he tended to look more hostile then just irritated.  
"I'm actually amazed you did not catch them yourself," He almost growled, "There were close enough to your own location."  
"Safety First," the sword's glow was back again as Raziel's voice emerged from it once again, "But you also have to remember that we don't have the same kind of hearing that you do, Vorador."  
"I find that no excuse."

Kain had not really been expecting to hear from Raziel again, but he did not question it. "They were not on or close to the path. I would have seen or heard them. " He looked toward the trees.

"What direction?" He questioned flatly.  
_'How in the hell did they get this close?_' He thought to himself.

"Right there," Vorador pointed out towards the east section of the forest, "The closest village to this place. A bit too obvious for you though, wasn't it?"  
"I hate to say I told you so," Raziel's voice came again, "Well, actually I don't, but I have told you to watch that area before."  
"It's a good thing someone did." Vorador said with his voice still dripping in disappointment.  
Although the children could not hear Raziel, and neither could most anything else in Nosgoth, Vorador and Kain could. The children generally dismissed it and thought them both crazy for the first little while until they noticed the swords unnatural glow when Kain claimed it was talking. Raziel only made himself present when he felt like imputing something on a conversation, or when he got bored of listening to every one else chatter, so he generally put his two cents in.

Kain rolled his eyes, making a face that could be perceived as saying _'That was far to obvious_'. He kept his eyes on the tree line. Vorador was right, that was far to close for the children's safety. He knew that having the humans this close could only spell danger, but they were not about t leave the Pillars.  
"Yes, obviously I should have listened to you." Kain's voice fell two notes, sounding singularly unimpressed. "Humans that close can only spell an attack, or something close to it. We'll have to cut them short." This statement was followed by a low mumble about history and the stupidity of humans, far to low for the children to hear.

"I think you are a bit late. I'm one step ahead of you on getting rid of them," he said almost smugly, "The trespassers are dead, or as good as it if not completely dead yet.  
The presence resonating from the sword changed slightly. The glow dropped and the feel of the presence turned to something that gave the impression that Raziel was not amused by this new development.  
"You do realize," the sword stated, "That killing them off, if their friends ever find them, will lead to another all out war. Right?"  
"I assure you, they will not find their fallen friends," Vorador stated with a grin, "I took care of that as well."  
Raziel's annoyed presence grew stronger. He was clearly not liking where this conversation was headed.  
"Something tells me that I do not want to know."  
"No, you don't."

"Nor do I." Kain grimaced slightly. "I suppose we'll have to keep a close eye on that area, and the surroundings from now on. Guard the children more closely as well. I do not like where this human problem is heading, we're going to have to find something t do about it."  
He looked up at the children. Most all of them had stopped and were looking at Kain and Vorador. Kain raised an eyebrow at them.

"Well, why are you not inside?"  
Pelin and Renik turned to one another, taking off for the stone-hold. Zack pretended that he was never listening and kept his head low as he continued to escort Teek with him as Leena and Ariea tailed behind him. Keena and Sly followed, but at a more lax pass. They had caught some of the conversation, and the girls were sure life was about t get a bit more complicated.


	2. Chapter 2: Perils

The air was calm and the night was fairly quiet

A/N: I think we're going well with this update thing. I say that on the second chapter, can you say Jinx? XD

I want to thank Fieothan again! EDITOR AND GOD! -bows-

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Fieothan Says: Constructive Criticism is a good thing.

--

The night was calm quiet, the breeze seemed afraid to blow. It had been a month or so since the humans had neared the pillars, though Kain was not convinced that would be the end of it. He sat upon his former thrown, watching the tree line as the children were waking up. The sun had only just disappeared behind the landscape and Kain could hear the children moving behind him. Most of them were awake by now.

Pelin was sitting beside the Pillar of Time, trying to wake himself up. He looked up at Kain for a moment, then to the tree line, and back to Kain. He had no idea what the Scion was staring at, but though better then to ask him.

Sly had come out as soon as the sun had vanished from sight, and was leaning as she normally did on the Pillar Of Death. She had also noticed Kain staring off into the trees, but she already knew why. She decided that his zoning out was unhealthy, and took it upon herself to break it.

"Scion?" She spoke up.

"Hmm?" Kain's spell was broken.

"The others will be hungry. Have you managed to find anything for them, or shall Pelin and I hunt?"

"No. I have a meal for all." Kain assured her.

Sly sniffed the air slightly, "A deer?"

"Two, actually."

Sly smiled to herself as she watched the others move around. The girl had become very handy with her skills. She had been first turned vampire, and had been working on improving her skills since. Her senses had heightened to extreme levels, though her hearing still could not compare to Vorador's, she knew it never would.

Sly turned her eyes back to the marble ground the pillars were held by, and noticed a pair of feet beside her.

"Good night, Renik." She did not even look up.

"Night, Sly." The boy answered, watching Pelin start to walk around.

"Sleep well?" Sly made small talk.

"Sure, I guess…"

"I suppose having to sleep all day is a bit strange."

"It's not so bad." Renik told her.

Renik had always been a rather optimistic type of person all though he had is moments of doubt. He had yet to choose to be changed into a vampire, he wanted to stay a human for a little longer. He slid back toward the Pillar that had chosen him, Dimension. He placed a hand on its rough and stony surface for a moment.

"It's still just all so strange to me." He looked back to Sly. "Why were we picked?"

"I'm not sure." She answered honestly.

"Exactly, We don't even know what makes us special. It's just odd to me is all."

"Well, the Pillar's chose us from birth, so who knows. The point is that we were chosen, and now we have to guard the pillars. It's our destiny."

"You're right." Renik smiled slightly. "Maybe one day we'll know why."

Kain had stopped staring at the tree line and moved from the thrown to an area beside the pillars. The two deer he had killed were lying beside each other. When all the children had settled, he would tell them to eat. The night was young, and they could use some food to keep the energy up.

Something small hit the back of Kain's leg, he turned and found that it was Teek. The little youngster had managed to get himself up on time this evening and was not still whining about getting up too early. He was gripping on to the vampires leg.  
"Good Night!' He said with a big smile, "It's still weird saying that."  
"Teek!" The Conflict Guardian shouted as she ran over, "What are you doing?"  
"Nothing Ariea," Teek replied looking as innocent as he could, "I was just saying hi."  
"Well come on," she said as she made motioned for him to follow, "You ran off and Zack has no idea where you went."  
The boy looked like he was going to frown but thought better of it and followed Ariea as she walked away.  
"Having quite the evening so far, huh?"  
Leena had managed to sneak around Kain while every one else was chatting. The Energy Guardian was wearing her usual bright smile along with a short sleeves top, a pair of boyish shorts, and the sash around her waist that bore her symbol. She seemed to be in a good mood, like she normally was. Her hazel brown hair was shining with what little light there was during the night, and her yellow eyes were reflecting the moon light, as were all the other vampires.  
"The humans are going to have to start another fire, aren't they?" she asked. "Looks like Zack, myself and the two others are going to have to create some distance again."  
She almost cringed at the thought of fire. Even as a human she had never liked it and had always had bad luck with it.

"Yes, they will have to, though this time I am not sending Renik. He nearly set the forest ablaze the last time." He looked back around the circle. "I'll have to ask Ariea, I suppose."  
Even Kain did not like fire, not in the least. He crossed his arms and shifted his weight to his left foot. He watched Renik try and tag Pelin, only to be tackled to the cold, hard ground. Kain shook his head and looked to Leena.  
"We'll move out passed the stone-hold and stay there well the humans cook, we will be no where near the blaze."  
Keena was now helping Renik get up after the rather hard hit Pelin gave him. Renik in turn tackled Pelin back and another play fight ensued. Kain silently wondered how they could already be in another play fight, but shrugged it off and moved back toward his thrown. He stood in front of it, calling out to the group.  
"Now that you're all awake, I've been hunting today, and I've brought deer. Someone other then Renik may cook it once the vampire's have drained what they can drink."  
When Kain gave the go ahead, Pelin jumped and sunk his fangs into the dear's neck. He drank for a moment, and then with a satisfied look, moved toward Kain. Sly took the next drink, though hers was not long. She moved back toward her Pillar, watching the rest move around.

Ariea was holding on to Teek's shoulders and hugging the boy closer to her while half of the new circle shuffled themselves around. She caught herself zoning out on Zack again. She had caught herself just staring at him a lot of late, and hoped that he had not noticed. Something was wrong, though she was not sure what it was.  
She felt more compelled to stick close to Teek and Keena, but found herself focused on Zack again. She let out a frustrated sigh. The vamperick group members would be leaving soon enough, and it looked as though Kain had just assigned her to cooking. Teek was too young to be trusted with fire, and the others had proved that they were not as qualified to cook things properly.  
"The vampire members of this group will accompany me to the stone-hold." Kain said, "We will wait there until you are finished cooking." With this statement, he started to move for the stone building they slept in.  
Pelin and Sly followed him, well Renik and Keena stayed back with the other human members. Renik looked around, hungry as a dog left to starve for a week. As Kain rounded the corner of the stone building, he nearly ran into a tall, green skinned Vampire. He crossed his arms again

"Never very close, but never far away either." Was Kain's only statement to this development.  
"Why is it you're never very close, Vorador?" Pelin found himself asking.

"I keep my distance because of the consistent screaming you and your friend do," he replied rather coldly, "If I was forced to stay around you two all day I would have a consistent migraine."  
He stayed where he had been standing and glanced around at the four children who had followed Kain. Zack, Sly, Leena and Renik. It frustrated him to no end that there were still only four who were not human, that was still only half. Teek was still too young to understand much of anything that was going on, but that was no excuse for the other three. He glanced skyward; deciding that staring upwards at the stars would be better then glaring at the kids. The night was young but dark and was not clouded over, just the way every one seemed to like it.

Pelin inched closer to Kain and smiled at the Scion. Kain rolled his eyes and moved back to the corner of the area he liked. He watched with a fatherly eye as the Vampires each found a place to wait well the human's cooked.  
Sly took up a place, standing at the side of the stonewall. There was something about leaning on things she liked much better then standing straight, and so most often, she leaned. She watched Kain settle in the far corner of the small clearing they had moved into, and then turned her attention to Vorador. She already knew he didn't like humans, she knew he really hated them. What puzzled her was the fact that even with a hatred of humans, he spent some time around their group even if it was not all that often, he spent time around the human members too.  
Sly was never one to dance around things, and so she simply decided she would ask him. It wasn't like she was on particularly bad terms with Vorador.  
"Vorador?" She spoke up, keeping her eyes on him, rather then on the ground. "You seem to hate the humans a lot. So, if you wouldn't mind my asking, why do you stick around here?"

"Are you sure you want to know the answer to that one?" Zack asked quietly as he leaned up against the wall beside her, "He's pretending to ignore you on purpose. Methinks that it is not a fun question to be asking."  
"The last time I checked," Vorador cut in, "She was asking me, and not you Zack."  
"Sorry, I knew you could hear me, but I've always been able to sense peoples thoughts and I know that ones not a good one."  
"I'd prefer it if you'd allow me to answer for myself."  
Zack bowed, crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He knew when he was getting annoying.  
"Simply put, child," he said without turning to face them, "I'm doing it to honor the memory someone, thought you would not know him."

Sly crossed her arms and looked passed him to the tree line.  
"Well, not knowing him would make sense, I don't know many people." She thought about this for a moment. "Who... Was it?" She asked, hoping not to cross a line.  
Kain watched from his own spot, as well as Pelin. Kain had wondered when this subject was going to come up. Pelin on the other hand was very confused. He had tried to stay away from Vorador, since the tall Vampire scared him.

"He was the last Ancient seen alive, and my Sire. His name was Janos Audron, and despite all that the humans did to him and took from him, he never hated them."  
" I still don't think I follow," Zack said in slight confusion, "You do all this for a memory?"  
"I do what I do because I feel I have to," Vorador answered, "We've already told you all about the Pillars and how they came to be. It was the ancients that raised them. The only thing that Janos wanted was some form of peace to this forsaken world. He died trying to achieve this. Almost everything that was in our way before hand is gone now. I figure I should at least try to finish what he started."

Sly gave a small grin. Vorador was doing all of this for someone who had been close to him. It was sort of heart warming. Janos Audron was a name she had only heard once before, and she could not recall where. It was important, that much was sure. She repeated the name in her mind a few times, wanting to remember it, before looking back up to Vorador.  
"He must have been very special to you, for you to do all of this for his memory."

"Do not think me soft hearted, "Vorador said as his cold voice returned, "I still stand a good chance of killing one of you if any of you show any signs of straying off the proper paths you know you have to take."  
Each of the new guardians knew that was a fact, it had been told to them several times now. They had to do their best to avoid any outside evil as best they could, or else. They had to remain as they were and not become corrupt. Kain had often said that history would repeat it's self if it could.  
"Rather cheery tonight, aren't you?" Zack said with his voice dripping in sarcasm. Vorador simply smirked but said nothing.

Sly's grin did not disappear, though she did stop asking questions. She knew as well as the others that if she strayed from the path, she would be dealt with. It wasn't as though she wanted too anyway. She liked the Pillars, and though she was often distant, she liked the other guardians as well.  
Pelin though to himself for a few minutes about what had been said and hinted at. He had heard the story of Nupraptor and often found himself wondering why the pervious Mind Guardian went insane but Pelin had never asked before. He looked to Kain for a moment, wondering if he knew.  
Kain noticed the boy staring at him.  
"What is it, Pelin?" He asked, sounding slightly impatient.  
"I'm just wondering, why did Nupraptor go crazy?"  
Kain was a bit shocked by this question. He looked to Vorador, wondering if this was something he would rather field. After all, He had been alive at the time.

"Before Kain, there was a Balance Guardian who was murdered by the Hylden. A woman named Arial. Nupraptor and the previous Balance Guardian were lovers, and when he found her body he went in to a fit of madness that infected all of the rest of the Circle."  
"And that is your history lesson for today." Zack said with a grin. Leena, who had remained extremely quiet until that point, started to giggle while Pelin blinked with a look of confusion and surprise.  
"Wow, love is dangerous!"  
"You aren't kidding. " Kain agreed, Umah had proven that to him.  
Pelin looked up at Kain, but didn't ask about it. Sly shook her head at Zack and sighed. She loved being outside at night when she was a human, though she had never expected to have to be out at night to live.  
"I wonder how much longer they'll be cooking." She voiced her thoughts.  
"I don't know. One of them will come for us when they are finished." Kain assured her, breaking out of his own private thoughts of the past.

The silence that followed was a comfortable one. Every one was left to their own thoughts, thoughts that Zack could occasionally hear. Most kept their eyes to the sky and the entire group seemed contented. Finally there it was again, a peaceful moment where no one felt the need to talk or ask questions. Vorador cherished these moments, as they were often short. The silence lasted for a few minutes, occasionally being interrupted by Zack's bored sighing.  
All of a sudden Vorador made a movement that could have been a flinch. He spun to face Kain with a more angry expression then a worried one.  
"The humans are back," he said hastily, "The other four are calling. Hurry!"  
He quickly disappeared soon after in a flash of light.  
It only took Zack and Leena a second to act. Both sprang up and started a mad dash back towards the fires warm, yellow glow on the crest of the hill's horizon. Zack had always been one of the fastest of the group, and was well ahead of Leena and the others.  
"_Damn it you guys!_" He cursed mentally, "_You'd better be Okay!_"

A look of surprise took over Kain's face for a moment before he too disappeared. Sly and Pelin were right behind Zack and Leena, heading for the firelight. Sly cursed herself mentally like Zack did, and she knew everyone else was doing the same.  
Kain drew the Reaver the instant he appeared among the group. He found that a group of village humans had cornered the group of children, who looks about as brave as they could while facing large group of men. It must have been every man from the village. Kain stood between the children and the attack, holding himself in an arrogant manor.  
The humans raised their weapons, ready to strike Kain down in an instant.  
"What a fine evening this just became."

A painful sounding gasp came from the other side of the group. A sword had managed to lodge it's self through the rib cage of one man. It pulled back out and the man fell reveling both the sword and it's wielder, Vorador.  
Now the once brave village men were panicked and practically surrounded. Kain in front and Vorador behind their group, one glaring and one grinning. Kain was brandishing the Soul Reaver while standing right in front of the kids.  
The sword started to violently glow. It flickered and flashed in what seemed to be anger. Raziel was fully aware of what was going on and was fully cautious, and now outrages to boot.  
"_I honestly have a hard time believing that they were this dumb_," the sword's echoing voice said, " _But it looks like you and I are bound for a fight for the first fight in a long time tonight_."

"Not that we couldn't use it." Kain remarked, blocking the first strike.  
The men moved in on them, all at one time. Kain blocked and struck were he could, while trying to keep and eye on the children. It took a moment after the men started moving, but the children bolted. Keena ran to the left, followed by Teek, well Ariea and Renik took to the right. The entire group of children snaked their way through the crowed, dodging the grasps and swords of the men.  
Kain took a strong hit to the chest. He let out a growl in response, taking the man who had hit him and biting deep into his neck. The man squirmed with pain and eventually dropped limp. Kain went about the task of keeping his eyes on the children as the fight ensued, but the kids were all soon separated.

Ariea had done the smart thing and ran behind Vorador. The Vampire was killing everything in reach and he seemed to be having a bit too much fun doing it. Ariea did her best to stay behind him while his sword stances made him sway left and right. Each time he was forced to move the girl was vulnerable, but each time she took it upon herself to keep out of the range of the human's hands and swords, and she was doing well.  
Teek on the other hand, was having a much harder time. The small boy had run in the opposite direction of any protection in order to follow Keena, who had started running first. Teek was still small, and though he was as slippery as a greased pig, he was a very slow runner. He was beginning to fall too far behind Keena and the two men who were behind him were gaining on him at an alarming rate.

Renik was dipping and diving away from the men and he had even managed to trip one. He rolled out of the way of another blade, trying to find Kain or anyone else who would help him. When he couldn't get to Kain so instead he just dodged and moved around, hoping to spot someone else amongst the brawl.  
Keena was well ahead of Teek by now, and when she turned to look for him, she noticed the two men behind him. She turned back for him, trying to get to him to hurry up, but they were cut off by a large man who had headed them off.  
Kain saw this man cut Teek and Keena's exit off and he tried to help, but was hit sharply in the shoulder. He turned and struck the man down, but was boxed in by a few more.  
"Damn it!" He yelled

Ariea tried to move from behind Vorador to go and help Teek but the big vampire just threw her back behind him and yelled at her to stay put. Vorador was not going to let the one that he had who was safe get away from him. He was just hoping that Renik would not get hurt or caught and would find his way to where Vorador was currently defending Ariea.  
Teek instantly clung on to Keena as soon as they were cut off from any exit routs. He buried his face in Keena's shirt and did his best to brace himself for some sort of extreme pain, although he was unsure of what would hit him or how much pain to brace for.

The Nature Guardian threw her arms around the small boy and watched the men around them. Three of the men were standing around the two, and one nodded at the others. There were quick movements from two men and both Keena and Teek were held against their will. The men were carrying them toward the forest. Keena kicked the man holding her until he dropped her, but she was quickly picked up the man running with him. Kain thrust the Reaver forward, trying to clear a path towards the kidnappers but was cut off again.  
"Get out of the way!" He snapped at the men, trying to get to the children being carried off. He managed to use a Telekinetic burst, but his aim was throw off by the attackers he was facing, and he hit the man who Keena had kicked before. Renik rolled through the crowed and landed next to Ariea shortly after. The boy had found a safe place to hide behind Vorador with the Conflict Guardian.  
"Where are Teek and Keena?" He asked, completely out of breath.

Renik quickly got his answer because Ariea was gawking in horror watching her friends being carried off. She was so mad and scared that could not even speak, she just meekly pointed towards the men who were taking their friends and covered her mouth with the same hand she had lifted.  
A surprisingly fast streak was all Vorador heard from behind him, but as he turned to quickly check he found nothing but Ariea and Renik. He had not dropped his guard and managed to knock back the man who was attacking him to take another quick look. He did not like what he saw at all.

Zack had managed to dodge the fighting and had squirted around behind Vorador but was now on a direct course for Keena and Teek as well as their kidnappers. The young vampire was running faster then Vorador thought he could move. Zack then did the worst thing possible for his own safety. He jumped off the ground and landed a full speed kick to the neck joint of the man who was carrying off Teek.  
"_If that kick did not kill that man,_" Vorador thought, "_Then I don't know what will._"

The man went down, dropping Teek on the way, but a fourth man quickly stepped between Zack and Teek, holding his sword forward well the other man continued to carry Keena off. The new man struck at Zack, hoping to get the pest away from him and the boy but he missed his target.  
Kain had gained only an inch of space between himself and the mob. He spotted Zack as he glanced up.  
"God, I hope he knows what he's doing." He thought as he struck another human down.  
Renik was horrified. Zack could be killed, and so could Teek and Keena! He was debating getting up to help, but knew Vorador would never allow for it. He was forced to watch from the safety of the sidelines.

Zack stood tall but held his chin in close to his body and simply glared at the weapon that had been pulled on him. He was almost his full size when he was transformed so he was already pretty tall and looked formidable. Now however, he was mad. He had never had to fight before except in practice, but he looked like something to be feared.  
"I don't want to have to hurt any one else," he said with his voice sounding about as menacing as he looked, "Put Keena down and get out of my way!"  
He was not sure what was wrong with him. He had never felt this way before, so angry. He could almost feel his own blood boiling. His breathing was still calm but his heart was racing. He was finding it hard to hold himself back, for the first time he just wanted to kill something.

Kain could hear the change in Zack's voice. He knew what it meant. Zack had discovered the thrill of the hunt, and what the blood lust can entail. Kain quickly made a mental note of this, so that he could deal with it when the fight was over. Zack's attacker shook his head and bared his weapon towards the Mind Guardian.  
"No way!" He said as he pointed the sword right at Zack.  
He would have struck, if he had not seen one of his group members approaching behind Zack. The man raised his weapon and swung down swiftly, hitting the Zack over the back of the head with the club he had been using. He then quickly picked Zack up and threw him over his shoulder. The human who had been facing Zack with his sword turned grabbed Teek and started to dash for the forest. The three men ran and took the three kids with them.

By this time Vorador was aiming to attack his opponent again but the man in his way backed up, as did the rest of the attackers. They were retreating and it really got under Vorador's skin. He did not do much about it at first. He watched them run and turned to the two who were behind him, checking for any serious injury. When he did not find anything serious he stood straight again and glared at the forest.  
He rammed the sword in to the sheath that was hidden under the cloak he was always wearing and turned to Kain, wondering which of them would stay with the kids and which one would be responsible for going after the men. He was sure he was getting stuck behind again.

Kain sighed and fit the Soul Reaver onto his back again.

"Damn it all." He muttered as he did a head count, making sure they hadn't gotten anyone else. He stalked calmly off toward the forest with anger seething from him and malice written all over his face.

"I'll Go." He said as he passed Vorador. His tone was a dangerous one and no one bothered to argue with him. Clearly the humans had managed to cross Kain, and as they would find out, that was a very dangerous thing to do.


End file.
